


Axton's Secret

by StormWildcat



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Marriage Proposal, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 21:13:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4681664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormWildcat/pseuds/StormWildcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axton's acting strangely and Maya's trying to figure out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Axton's Secret

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JaekLeone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaekLeone/gifts).



Axton was up to no good. Granted, there are not many times when he’s not up to no good, but still. He’d seemed distracted by something all day and even rushed through our mission. This was the man who delighted in dropping his “ladies” and having them rip through hordes while he ransacked the area, leaving whoever else was with him to fight alongside the heavy machinery. Or he’d just sit back and watch the carnage unfold, taking a twisted joy we all knew too well in the screams of our enemies punctuated by the thud of a lifeless human body hitting the ground. It was a sick symphony that he loved to let go on and on, stretching the time of our days out in bandit country as far as they could before grabbing the loot and heading home.

But this day was different. Sure he’d dropped the turrets as usual, but he took a larger part of the onslaught. Ignoring the unopened lockers nearby, Axton bolted into the fray, aiding his weapons of choice with his Shreddifier, igniting as many goons as he could manage. I wouldn’t have thought too much of this if it wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t seem to really be enjoying the job as much as usual. Killing nameless, faceless Pandoran filth was one of his favorite things to do with me aside from other “adult” themed fun and going for drives through the different places we’ve conquered together. It was so strange to see his lips pulled tight and brow furrowed in such concentration. If it wasn’t so worrying, I would’ve found it sexy.

“C’mon let’s go,” he signaled, egging me on to push forward. I’d spotted a few guns on the far side of the room that were dropped that could be promising but he didn’t seem to care much for loot. That was particularly disturbing. He’d swim though a pile of guns if it was possible to do without hurting yourself with the pointy bits yet he was ignoring anything that dropped other than ammo. Axton meant business and I’d never seen business Axton before. What does one do with this side of him? One of the rare times I wish I could grill his ex-wife about him and not just literally grill her...with my mind.

The “boss battle”, if you will, was short and sweet. Ax whipped out the heavy artillery for it, his turrets rigged to set off a nuclear explosion when dropped and his Rugged Mongol at the ready made quick work of our main adversary. Bits of the guy were everywhere. Still gross to think about. After having done what we came for, Axton headed to the exit in a hurry.

“What’s with you today?” I questioned during our run to the Fast Travel, the words coming out breathy.

“Nothin’. We just need to get back quick, is all,” he answered. His boots were heavy on the cement floor of the bandit base and his pack rustled in rhythm to his steps.

“Sure doesn’t seem like ‘nothin’. Also ‘we’? I don’t recall having an appointment or anything. And you usually act differently when you’re hurrying home to take me to bed,” I pointed out. The statement made Axton crack a smile, the first one I’d seen since before we were assigned the mission. Matter of fact his whole aura seemed to change when Lilith asked us to clean up the mess here last minute. Huh.

“Listen, Darlin’, it’ll all make sense when we get back, but we gotta get to Sanctuary fast,” he assured me. The plot thickened.

With no answers as to what the rush was about, we reached the Fast Travel in record time. Axton chose Sanctuary as our destination and a few seconds later, we warped. (The overwhelming amount of blue always disorients me so when we got into Pierce Station, I had to shake off the lag.) As soon as he reconstructed completely, Axton took off in the direction of his apartment. Before he disappeared around the corner of the exit, he turned back to me, “Make sure you don’t get sent on any other missions, alright? Gonna need you in about an hour.” He made it most of the way out of the station before coming back with the second half of his instructions that he apparently had forgotten. “Also I bought you somethin’. You’ll need it for later. It’s at Lil’s. I’ll ECHO for ya, Darlin’,” he shouted as he continued on his determined trek back to his place.

What the hell was going on?

Confused and incredibly curious, I get myself together and head for the best escape towards Lil’s apartment which was also mine until about two years ago when I moved in with Ax. He’d kept us at separate places for some time, probably worried about making any kind of commitment. After the hell his ex-wife had put him through, I couldn’t be mad at him about; though at times I was anyway. I was a different person after all. But hey, he obviously got over it and asked me to move in with him at his place. Definitely took some getting used to and not just because I was suddenly living with my other half. It was more of the apartment itself that was the issue. There were no windows. None. Which I thought was kind of insane and a little dungeon-y from the first step I took into that place. If Axton had turned to me that day and told me he was a vampire, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. The only light that came in was from a pair of sliding tinted glass doors that led out to the best part of the place; the balcony that overlooked Sanctuary. Was a great little getaway spot to read a book, get some sun or gaze up at the stars after most of the town’s lights were out. The best was when the town lost power. I mean, that wasn’t the best thing ever since it really messed up a lot but as far as stargazing was concerned, it was the greatest happenstance ever. The night sky was absolutely amazing and with our decrepit town closer to the sky than most, it was just breathtaking. I refused to sleep indoors that night and Axton moved the mattress out to suit my whims. He was a gentleman on occasion and I liked it that way.

My steps brought me to Lil’s door and I knocked. I still had the key but in case she was indisposed in some way, shape or form I didn’t want to bust in on her. It only took a few seconds for her to let me in. “Damn that was quick. You guys just left,” she greeted, genuinely surprised to see me back so early. I shook my head.

“Apparently Ax has some scheme going on that he has to prepare for or something. He led the charge straight through to the big guy, took him out with a few rounds of heavy artillery and took off like a shot to the Fast Travel. Lil, I’ve never been more confused and concerned in my life…well at least my life here,” I confessed as I collapsed onto the couch. Was still paying for all the running.

“Huh, weird. Isn’t he usually a little psychotic when it comes to missions? Too busy bathing in blood and glory to rush home?” she asked, joining me on the cushions. Her eyebrow was cocked in a way that I’m sure mirrored mine when I had questioned Axton about his hurry.

“Usually. But today was different. He was in a great, energetic mood and then you asked us to do the mission, which I thought would only put more of a spark in him. But then he just kind of…went dark,” I recalled.

“I do remember feeling like he didn’t want to go. Which again, weird. That guy usually jumps at the chance for missions like that so I figured it was a no-brainer on who I was going to ask. Wonder what’s up with him,” she pondered aloud as she looked out of her window towards his place.

I sat for a few moments before remembering one of the last things he had said before taking off. “Oh, he said he left something here for me? Something I needed for later apparently.”

“That’s right, I forgot about that. He had Mordi drop it off which I thought was strange. It’s in your old space,” Lil revealed. Ever since I arrived on Pandora and got in contact with her, Lil and I had become very close very quickly. Maybe it was our personalities, or maybe it was the fact that we were both Sirens, but whatever the reason, she’d become a sister to me. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when I went into my old room in her apartment and found it mainly untouched. Was probably more of a sign of her lack of care or need for the space than a tribute to my previous vacancy, but it still made spotting the package easy.

On top of the naked bed was a rectangular, fairly flat box that did not seem to come from anywhere on Pandora. If it had come from anywhere around us, it would’ve been partly crushed, incredibly dirty and probably graffiti-ed  with something rude. But it was actually pretty; pale yellow with a white bow that didn’t look touched by a bit of dust or grime. Miracle of miracles. I stared at it as if it were an attractive alien for a tick before pulling at the bow carefully. The wrapping fell apart with a gentle flutter and I lifted the lid…and gasped.

“What? What is it?!” Lil stood in the doorway, just as curious as me about the contents of the box. I couldn’t answer her though. But I did gather the wit the show her. My fingers grabbed carefully at the innards of the gift and slowly pulled it free of its casing. It unfolded and revealed its full self to us both and Lil’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit that’s gorgeous! Oh my God where the hell did he find that?!”

“I…I don’t know! He must’ve gotten it during the last trip to a central planet,” I reason, gawking at the beautiful gift. “He…he wants me to wear this later for whatever he has going on.”

The realization must’ve felt like a frying pan to the face to Lil because that’s how she sounded when she spoke next. “Oh shit…you don’t think…” She trailed off but I didn’t need to hear the rest.

“No, I don’t think that at all. There’s no way,” I shook my head but still kept my eyes focused on the contents of my hands. “You know as well as I do that that’s not what this is all about.”

“I don’t know, girl. That’s a damn nice dress he got you and he was miffed about getting that bullet-ridden mission today. And he was in a hurry to get back? This has got to be something really special if he’s going to lengths like these. And I can’t think of anything more special than-“

“Then think of something less special because there’s no way that’s Ax’s end game,” I cut her off mid-rationale, not wanting to hear the rest of the sentence. It was a pleasant thought to say the least, but it was nothing more than a dream, a fantasy. I was in a relationship with a man who on several occasions brought up his distaste for the idea of another large commitment. Moving in with him was as close to Lilith’s guess as I was going to get and that was fine by me. (Regardless of the tiny, hopeful voice in the back of my head wishing for her to be right, I knew she couldn’t be.) “Remember, this is Ax we’re talking about here. No, the most I’m imagining is a romantic night of some kind…or he’s in a roleplaying mood.”

“Wow, did NOT need to know that,” Lil’s face scrunched up at my words.

I shrugged, “It happens. And this seems up the ally of either undercover super spy or maybe just a chance meeting of two well-dressed people.” Lil stared at me with a look that said, “That all you could come up with?” Sometimes my upbringing showed more than I would like it to. Damn monks.

“Well, get ready for whatever the hell is going on tonight and you tell me all about it the second you can, alright? I need to know what this is all about,” she instructed as she motioned to the dress. With that, she closed the door and left me to my thoughts and new outfit.

My pants hit the floor and I unzipped my bodysuit, peeling it away from myself. Carefully I lifted the dress over my head and let it drape down around me. Pulling at the luxurious-feeling fabric, I straightened it out and looked in the partly cracked mirror in the corner and admired the sight before me. The dress was a rich black, an almost hidden design around the waist that was lacy with a slight sparkle to it, giving the outfit some depth. The neckline was cut on the low side, showing off my tattoo and of course cleavage. It took a few attempts of fixing them to realize that the straps were meant to fall off, leaving my shoulders bare. I hadn’t noticed when showing the gift off to Lil that the front had a slit up the left leg that allowed more of the blue swirls, angles and circles that adorned my skin to peek out at the rest of the world. Should’ve figured it would have the opening; any chance Axton could get to eye my tats, he took it.

 After taking in the full view of the mirror, I saw for the first time how I looked all dolled up. It was overwhelming. Growing up in a place where compliments were few and far between and never aimed at my looks, I never noticed if I was attractive or not. I got to a point where I just assumed that admitting someone was alluring was some kind of weird sin and wrote it off, never wondering again after that if I was appealing to the eye after that. But a murder and fated train ride later led me to a place where people spoke their minds, shot each other (and revived) and did all the things I was told to not do as a kid because it was heinous, I started to ponder all of the points of my life that I had buried in the back of my mind. It didn’t take long for Axton to drop line after line at me, which left me confused initially. I thought maybe the train wreck had done permanent damage, particularly when I spotted the ring around his neck. But days turned to weeks, turned to months, and he never let up. Eventually he made a genuine confession that he found me “completely breath-taking” and he was hoping that we could “be a thing”. Years later, I thought I had learned fully the extent of my looks, but the reflection in the mirror taught me even more.

It took some effort to fight back the joyful tears threatening to stain my face, but I completely cut them off when I looked back to the box and saw that there had been shoes hiding underneath the dress. How had I not noticed them before? Oh that’s right; overcome by beautiful dress from the boyfriend. A jolt of excitement went through when I spotted the strappy pair. Guess I was the typical woman more than I thought too and really enjoyed a sweet pair of shoes. That was fine. These things were awesome and I even I knew there were going to look damn good with the dress I was sporting. Quickly I slipped them on, mentally noting that Axton got my size perfect and fixed the ankle straps in place. The heels not only made me taller, but my figure seemed to change. I stood more upright and my legs were flexed from being balanced on the balls of my feet; the leg showing from between the black drapes of fabric had a few muscle lines and at that moment, I was pretty proud of my figure. Another point to Axton for teaching me how to love myself.

A crackling sounded out of the ECHO still attached to my belt, making me jump. After came Axton’s voice. “Hey, Darlin’. You get my gift?”

I grinned as I picked up the device and spoke into it. “Yes I did. And you are wonderful..and quite possibly selfish, but mainly wonderful,” I joked. The tail end of a laugh caught on the frequency.

“You’re welcome. I’m ready for you over on the balcony, alright? Meet me as soon as you can,” he directed with a smile that could be heard in his tone. Was there a hint of nerves in there?

“I’m leaving right now, Ax,” I informed him. “See you soon.”

Lil reminded me with narrowed eyes to dish all the details as I walked out the door. Agreeing, I closed the door and clicked my way to mine and Ax’s apartment. My mind stayed surprisingly clear on the way; most likely a side effect of concentrating all of my energy on not falling in the new heels. Trying to avoid every crack and crevice in the Sanctuary pavement is a mission all on its own. Devoid of any ankle injuries, I stepped over the threshold and into the dark space. Well, not completely dark. Spotted about the area were lit candles with their flames dancing happily on the wicks. The sight made me smile softly to myself as I made my way to the balcony where Axton was supposed to be waiting for me.

At least I thought Axton was waiting for me. But when I slide the glass door over, there was a table for two set up complete with more candlelight, covered dishes and a man that I had assumed would be Ax, but it couldn’t be. This man was free of any Pandoran debris, dressed in a red dress shirt with a fitted black vest and black pants complete with shined shoes. And a tie. Axton was wearing a freaking tie. His look had me floored, which I was pretty sure how he felt about me when I showed up.

“Wow….Maya….you look gorgeous. I mean, I knew would which is why I bought all that but damn…you continue to catch me off guard with just how beautiful you can be,” Axton’s voice was low and expression frozen in awe.

I returned the gaze. “I can’t believe you did all this…and dressed up like that. I’ve never seen you look so…sharp before,” I breathed with a smile. A grin painted his face as he approached me, holding out his hand and motioning for me to spin. I humor him and spin around, an appreciative growl that was familiar to me sounding in his throat before he walked me over to my chair.

The following half an hour consisted of a delicious dinner of real food (none of the skag and rakk we were used to), lots of talking and laughing and secretly undressing each other with our eyes. As the sun started to settle more and more towards the horizon, Axton seemed to get a little tense. Maybe I said something wrong. “Ax, you alright?” I voiced my concern, brows furrowed with worry.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. Just…well,” he took a deep breath, “I got somethin’ for ya, Darlin’.” Another gift? Wow he was spoiling me this time. But I wasn’t going to dare say no after everything he’d done so far for me. There was no way that he was going to disappoint me with anything he gave me at that point. But my mind was reeling; what could he possibly have for me? I watched him carefully as he evacuated his seat and approached my side, encouraging me to join him. With a curious face, I got up and walked with him over to the side of the balcony closest to the sunset and pulled me in close. My nose caught a whiff of cologne that I enjoyed greatly. (If sexy had a smell, that was it.) Orange, pink and blue mingled in the sky as the sun began to hide away for the night. The rays breached the openings in the clouds, the beams of light predominant in the darkening atmosphere. It was a particularly stunning view and I couldn’t help but sigh as I leaned against Axton. The night was perfect. The night that Axton planned secretly and all by himself was perfect. I couldn’t have been prouder of him.

And then the next part of his plan unfolded.

The warmth that enrobed my side left as Axton stepped away and took my hands so I had to face him. He looked like he was mulling over about a thousand things in his head all at the same time. A few false starts but he finally got his words out properly. “Maya, I know that I’m not the easiest guy to live with or be with. Hell that’s kinda how I ended up here in the first place. But you’ve fallen for me all the same, for me being me. And that’s all I could ever ask for from the perfect woman. But I think I’ve been treatin’ you unfairly.” What the hell was he talking about? Unfairly?

“I don’t understand,” I admitted as I tried to read his eyes, but they were somewhat averted from me.

“Well I’ve been too caught up in the past to really see what I’ve got now. You’re fun, brave, strong, a damn good shot and shit, you can kill people with your brain. Plus you _like_ doing that…which adds to your fun factor, heheh. And you’re the best match for me that I think I’ll ever find on any planet but I was too damn scared about a mistake I made before. So I got you two more things, alright?” I watch him reach into the pocket of his vest and pull out a familiar silver chain with a set of dog tags and a wedding ring on it. My eyes narrow at the small collection of jewelry in his palm. “Now don’t get all mad yet and bear with me,” he asks as he places it all in my hands. I stare up at him, perplexed by the meaning of the so-called gift. (Perhaps I was incorrect thinking that whatever he was giving me would be amazing.)

“Now I know how much you hate the fact that I’ve hung onto that stuff over the years,” Axton started. “So I want you to do exactly what you’ve always wanted to do to them.”

Was he serious? Did he fully understand what that would mean? “Ax, you realize that means you’ll never see any of this again?” I confirmed with him.

But he simply nodded. “Do it, Darlin’.”

With an almost wicked grin, I encased the chain and its ornaments in my Phaselock ball, watching the metallic colors along with the gem all go purple and blue before coating them in corrosive acid and hurling the melting contents in the direction of the sun hard enough that they surely cleared the edge of town and were hurtling towards the surface of Pandora. I’d imagined disposing of the offensive items in so many different ways but decided ultimately that was the most satisfying way to go about it. And damn did it feel good.

“I’ve been waiting forever to do that,” I essentially moaned as I settled back into my previous position. Expecting to find Ax’s hands again, I was surprised to find him on the ground.

On one knee.

“And I’ve waited too damn long to do this,” he confessed as he revealed what was no doubt my final gift of the night; a small box with a silver banded ring nestled inside. My heart damn near stopped. No way. It couldn’t be happening. I was dreaming. It was a sweet, amazing dream but that’s all it had to be. Because for years I’ve known what I was in for and I had clarified it to Lil just a while before; Axton and I were committed to each other and felt no need to make anything “official” by central planet standards. (It wasn’t like being married gave you any special rights on Pandora.) He wasn’t going to want to get another ball and chain strapped to him so there wasn’t going to be any huge surprise wrapped up in a tiny box.

Yet there it was, staring me in the face. A tiny box with a huge surprise inside that glinted merrily at me in the setting sun rays. The white sparkle of a small diamond and the blue shine of sapphire teased my eyes from the black box. I was frozen and in complete shock, but he continued his speech to give me some time to process everything.

“I kept that ring and those tags to remind myself to not get mixed up in another doomed relationship. But that’s not what this is. What we got is special and for the first time in my life, I truly can’t see myself with anyone else. So,” he paused and made sure to catch my eye before continuing, “Maya, would you do me the honor of being the biggest part of my future…as my wife?”

“Oh my god,” escaped my lips as he beat down any doubts in my mind about reality at that moment. Axton was asking me to marry him and that tiny voice that’s always been muffled in the back of my head cried out the loudest it ever has and screamed at me to give the only answer I ever would give the only man for me.

“Yes, Axton. Yes!”

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OVER 4,000 WORDS. This was written for my Axton after a rough few days to cheer her up and THIS is what came out.
> 
> I always love Axton learning to let go of his past and take a big step with Maya. They're kind of perfect for each other and YOU CAN FIGHT ME ABOUT IT.


End file.
